Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promised on Wednesday that relief is coming to Americans at the grocery store, as the Trump administration plans to make “substantial announcements” on foreign food imports in the coming days.
During an interview with “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade, Bessent predicted that Americans would soon feel much better about their finances and hinted that certain grocery store items would be coming down in price.
“When you look at affordability now, and you go grocery shopping, for example, what products are you working on bringing down?” Kilmeade asked. “We know that certain products are down, certain [products] are up. For example, coffee. The president said, ‘I’m going to lower tariff rates on Brazil and Vietnam and other places to try to bring the price of coffee down.’ What else do you do?”
“Well, it’s tough to do a lot of specific things, but I can tell you that you’re going to see substantial announcements over the next couple of days in terms of things we don’t grow here in the United States,” Bessent replied. “Coffee being one of them. Bananas, other fruits, things like that. So that will bring the prices down very quickly.”
Sec. Scott Bessent: “You’re going to see substantial announcements over the next couple of days in terms of things we don’t grow here… coffee being one of them, bananas, other fruits… That will bring the prices down very quickly.” pic.twitter.com/OlwFniutbk
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 12, 2025
Bessent’s comments are a rare moment in which the Trump administration appears to acknowledge that tariffs have negatively affected Americans’ wallets in some circumstances. Last week, President Donald Trump also admitted that Americans are “paying something” due to his tariffs, adding, “But when you take the overall impact, the Americans are gaining tremendously.”
The average price of coffee in the United States has spiked in recent months after the Trump administration imposed hefty tariffs on countries around the world, including the leading coffee exporters. In September, the average price for a pound of ground coffee rose 3% from the previous month and jumped 41% from September 2024, the Associated Press reported. That increase has caused some coffee shops and grocery stores to hike prices. Banana prices have also risen slightly following the rollout of Trump’s tariffs.
Bessent said that the Trump administration is seeking to fix an “affordability mess” that began under former President Joe Biden.
“It was the worst inflation in 40-50 years, one of the worst in the nation’s history,” the Treasury Secretary added.
Bessent said the administration is working to address both affordability components: prices and income. He argued that by the first quarter of next year, Americans will see prices decline while their wages rise.
“You are going to feel it,” Bessent said, adding, “I think 2026 is going to be a blockbuster year.”
Trump’s tariffs are currently hanging in the balance as the Supreme Court considers whether the president can use his broad authority over foreign policy to impose tariffs on countries worldwide. Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case, with multiple conservative justices appearing skeptical of the president’s authority.
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